Porch Railing Flower Boxes

I thought the front porch needed a little color. So I planted some flower boxes.

I found the railing mount planters at Home Depot. They are designed to hold a plastic flower box, so I had to modify them to hold the moss. Using thin copper wire, I created a grid small enough to contain the moss and dirt. Then followed the same steps as when I plant my hanging baskets. (tutorial here)

I used purple New Guinea Impatiens, blue Lobelia (upright), Coleus, and Sweet potato vine.

I think it gives a nice pop of color to the front of the house. :-)

A Front Yard Tour

I was finally able to take some pictures of the front yard. The previous owner was an avid gardener, so it has been a fun surprise this spring to see what is going to bloom next. :-)

Let's start the tour at the driveway.

See that bright orange near the house? Those are gorgeous poppies! Let's get a closer look.

In front of the steps there are also several peonies, rose bushes, different colors of columbine, and alot of things I haven't identified yet.

Near the porch, ferns, hosta, more roses, and another type of poppy fill the area.

Here is the view from the house. A nice line of trees partially hide the house from the street.

And lastly, ferns, columbine, hosta, and lily of the valley fill a shady walkway on the other side of the house.
Thanks for taking the tour with me! Hopefully I'll be able to get my annuals planted this week. Have a great week everyone.

New Yard Photos and a Rainbow

We had a brief break in the seemingly endless storms, so I popped outside to snap a few pictures of the new back yard. As I stepped out the door, I saw one of the largest and brightest rainbows I had ever seen!

Let's walk up to the top of the hill to get a better view.



Wasn't it pretty? Ok, let's head back down the hill and I'll show you a closer view of some of the plantings in back.

This is the view from the deck and also out the french doors of the master bedroom.

There are a bunch of hostas and sweet Lily of the Valley around the tree. Small mounds of Forget-me-nots are also dotted around the yard.

And here's a couple of close-ups.

Bright orange poppies are just about to open in the front yard, so as soon as they do, I'll take a few pictures and show you that area. :-)

Have a great week everyone!

Master Bedroom and Hall Bath Photos

It has been a very soggy month here in Ohio. Record rain fall has made this one of the wettest months in the past 150 years, so the yard pictures of all of the pretty spring flowers didn't happen. :( Work has been going on at both houses and waiting for a room that is completely finished before showing pictures is just getting ridiculous, so here are a few photos of two of our mostly finished rooms. The master bedroom closets now have their doors and handles. LOVE them! I was amazed at how much I was able to fit in them. I feel so organized!

A picture of what this corner of the room looked like when we bought the house is here in my Flickr.

I think I would like to eventually get white or mirrored nightstands, but these work for now.

The accent color for this room is a red-orange, which is in the art work and the pretty leaf print fabric that I'll be using as a border on the edges of the curtains. The small chair may get a new slipcover, as well.
The hall bath is small and nearly impossible to get decent photos.
The color on the walls is a fresh green called "Summer Field" by Valspar for Laura Ashley Home. The vanity is from Lowes and the shower curtain and pictures are from Kohl's.

That's it for now. Hopefully it will start to dry out around here and I can start planting my annuals. I have lots of hanging baskets and containers to fill this year. :-)

I'm also sharing this on The Shabby Chic Cottage Blog's Transformation Thursday link event. Be sure to pop over to see all of the great projects this week.

Master Bedroom Ikea Closet

Just a few minor details to finish up and we should be ready to move in! Yea!!!

I know rooms with furniture and accessories are much more fun to look at, but since I don't think I want to show the inside of my closet once its been packed full of clothes, I thought I better show you that now.

The room originally had just one double closet and about 2 feet on either side extended behind the wall, making it a bit awkward to access.

We decided to knock out the wall and install an Ikea Pax system closet.

We bought 3 of the 39" frames and off-set the center unit and trimmed it out with crown molding to give it a custom look.

They only had 2 doors in stock, so we're waiting on the others. I also need to get a few more organizer inserts. But I really like how they seem to make the room look bigger and the ceiling taller...always a plus in a smaller home. :-)

The two bathrooms are also just about finished and I'll show those next.

Have a great week everyone!

Progress at the New House ~ 2nd Bedroom

Before I show you the 2nd bedroom, I want you to see the new cabinet that I got for the office (3rd bedroom). Its the Hemnes Linen Cabinet from Ikea! Its the perfect shade of red. Love it! It will hold our books, magazines, and basic office supplies.

Ok, now on to the bedroom...

Here's a small update on what we've been doing at the new house.

The hardwood floors are down in the 3 bedrooms and hallway; new interior doors have been hung; much of the crown molding, baseboard, and casings are done.

This is the 2nd bedroom. As you can see, the window casings still need to be finished and the hardware has to go on the door. Here is a Before picture (after the mauve-y pink carpet was removed). Purple walls and ceiling and the basic 70's ranch plywood doors. (nothing against purple, but, you have to really like that color to want it on every surface.)

The walls were painted a light neutral tan called Gray Beige by Olympic paints, and the trim is a white satin (the doors will be painted the same white, eventually). This room will be decorated basically the same as my master bedroom in the Tiny House. I Love the floors! They are a 5" wide plank of 3/4" hardwood in Brazilian Teak . Its not quite as dark as the hardwood floors we installed in the Tiny House. Although I really like the darker color, we now have a very light yellow lab who sheds, and the dog hair shows up in an instant on the dark floors, so I was hoping to find a color that was a touch lighter. The Brazilian Teak came in both a dark and light version, we choose the light. I'm very happy with the color! Please ignore the copious amounts of dust in the pictures. :-)
Well, that's all for now. Have a great week, everyone!

Manoil Toy People ~Treasures From Grandma's Attic

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I've done a Treasures From Grandms'a Attic post. Well, today's Attic Treasure is a fun group lead metal toy figures. Most of these were made by Manoil but I think one or two are by Barclay.

These were found in a large box carefully wrapped in tissue along with the other toys in the attic.

There are farm workers, brick layers, iron workers, and what look like shoe cobblers. Oh, and just one cow...I wish there were more animals, he's so cute!

Enjoy the photos! :-)

This collection is also part of the Vintage Love Market blog party over at Southern Lady's Vintage.